Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-02-23

The dispute in regard to the sale Of
certain vessels in which the Comstock
Brothers are interested, having been
the cause of certain items in Detroit
papers, set us to look up the matter,
and our Investigations resulted in the
following, which we are assured gives
the facts of the case
When the firm of Bewick, Com
stock q Co. dissolved. last July, the
Comstock Bros took the Alpena prop
erty, pine lands in Michigan, Mississ-
ippi, Canada, and the banking inter-
est, retaining with Mr.. Bewick their
interest in the vessel property, which
was one half Of the steam barge AL
coma, and one sixth of the towing
vessel San Diego. Wishing to close
up wholly their business relations,
they made Bewick this proposition
To take their interest in the barges at
$25, 900. which he agreed to do, pro-
viding, if when the boats were sold
this winter, they brought less than
$4,000, the Comstock Bros to stand
their proportion of the loss; but if
they brought more than that, they
were to receive their proportion of
the excess,-Bewick agreeing to bring
the boats to Detroit and use his best
endeavors to get the highest possible
price for them-their value being reg
istered in Loyd's Inland Register at
$4,000, and that value being put up
on them year ago, when vessel
property was very much depressed.
Mr.. Bewick, instead of doing this, as
agreed, laid up the Altoona in Duluth
and the San Diego in Buffalo, at the
extreme ends of the inland lake navi-
cation. Instead of trying to sell the
boats in the ordinary manner, he
caused one advertisement to be put in
the Detroit Tribune and three weekly
advertisements in the Detroit Free
Press. announcing they would be sold
the 21st day of December, 1886, on
the front steps of the City Hall, in
Detroit, at auction, for cash. A. w.
Comstock knowing that was not the
agreement as to the time or manner
in which the property was to be sold,
went to Detroit for the purpose of
having the sale postponed, and also
having it arranged to take place in
manner agreed upon; and for that
purpose made an appointment to meet
Mr.. B., which he violated, and after
repeated attempts on the part of
Comstock, Mr.. Bewick finally sent
him word that he would not see him /;
that if he had anything to say, to
communicate it to his lawyer. After
receiving this word, upon the advice
of his lawyer, he applied to the Wayne
Circuit Court for an Injunction, re-
straining the sale of the boats, which
was granted. The matter here rested
until last week, when Mr.. Comstock
went to Detroit, prepared to take the
boats at $4,000, which Mr.. B. refus-
ed to accept, preferring to pay that
sum for them himself. We are also
informed that Mr.. Bewick had no
idea of parting with the boats. That
before Dec. 21st. the day the sale was
advertised to take place, he had al
ready engaged the captains and had
men to sail them for him this coming
season. The public can draw their
own inference from the above facts.
The attempt to sell that amount of
property at auction for cash, being
situated as it was, and at a time of the
year before business men had their
past years transactions fairly closed
up, and time to look over the pros
poets for the coming year, conveys to
our own mind only one idea.